Cooking adventures and recipe archives of a home cook in Southern California. I created this blog mostly to share with friends and family, and it includes many recipes for Chinese grub, especially those staples I grew up with as a kid in Taiwan. But as you'll notice, I'm game for any and all cuisines.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Watermelon Chaat

First time I tried Watermelon Chaat was at Adya's in the Anaheim Packing District https://squareup.com/store/adya-anaheim/. "Chaat" is essentially a savory Indian fried dough snack mixed with aromatic spices (chaat masala). At Adya's they combine watermelon cubes with fresh mint, red onion, lime juice, thin shavings of fresh fennel bulb and their own blend of chaat masala. I wanted to recreate this refreshing dish, and here's my version, a great appetizer/prelude to spicy main courses like Lamb Vindaloo, Tandoori Chicken, or Tikka Masala. I also came up with a lighter, sweeter, palate cleansing version of watermelon chaat incorporating only lime juice, mango powder, sugar, and fresh mint leaves.